


I Turn to Wax (and Melt Like This)

by Aurorazilla



Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, F/F, Porn With Plot, canon compliant up until 2.14
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-08 11:26:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14104365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurorazilla/pseuds/Aurorazilla
Summary: “I just wish I could leave town for a while. Get away for a few days. Feel free of my mother’s evil clutches, you know?”Toni quirks a brow, thinking for a moment with a hum. “Well… why don’t you? You have the money.”Cheryl scoffs. “I would hate to be alone for so long; besides, there’s this snarky Serpent bitch who I may or may not miss.”Toni laughs. “Always such a charmer.” She leans in closer, lowering her voice a bit. “Well- maybe a certain ‘snarky Serpent bitch’ would love to join you in your little escape plan.” She crosses her arms. “So! Where are we going?”-Or: The obligatory roadtrip au





	I Turn to Wax (and Melt Like This)

**Author's Note:**

> strangerssss is coming tomorrow sorry babies  
> as is 'Fire and Powder' part 2
> 
> anyway im trash here's some gay shit

Cheryl Blossom and Toni Topaz are  _not_ friends. They’re  _friendly_ , sure, but it’s not like they’re  _inseparable_. Okay- fine, they’re sort of friends. To be honest, Toni is the only person Cheryl feels 100% comfortable around so more often than not she finds herself hanging out with Toni at Whyte Wyrm after school or behind the bleachers during lunch; they talk for hours and even text each other, like, daily. (Or at Pop’s, late at night, when she just needs to get away from her mother. Those nights are the worst, but Toni is always willing to meet her just for a milkshake and open ears (and sometimes arms).) **  
**

But Cheryl will never admit how much she values Toni’s company. That night at the movies and then Pop’s really changed her view on the Serpent and they’ve just been gravitating towards each other ever since.

So that’s why, the Friday before Spring Break, Cheryl strides into Whyte Wyrm and sits down at the bar with a huff. Because she has nowhere else to go, and not at all because she’s been craving Toni’s presence or anything.

“Rum and cherry coke, please,” she says and Toni turns from where she’d been cleaning a glass with a smirk.

By now, most of the Serpent patrons are used to Cheryl waltzing in like she owns the place. So, they don’t really pay her any mind. (Except for Jughead and Sweet Pea, who both roll their eyes and share a knowing glance.)

“ID, miss?” Toni sets the glass aside and Cheryl rolls her eyes.

“Don’t tease me, Cha-Cha. It’s been a rough night.”

“I thought you  _liked_ being teased.” Toni makes the drink and hands it over. “What’s up? You don’t usually come here this late.”

“My mother’s latest ‘client’ has  _total_ Bundy vibes and I am  _not_ sticking around for their sexcapades.” Cheryl sighs. “Do you ever just wish you could… step out?”

Toni frowns, leaning her elbows on the bar. She knows Cheryl’s past experiences with her depression, and what almost happened to her at Sweetwater River. “Cheryl, are you okay?”

“Peachy.” Cheryl sips her drink and then rolls her eyes again when Toni’s worried expression doesn’t change. “ _Relax_ , Topaz. You’re stuck with me for a while longer.”

Toni smiles at that. “That’s good. You’re kind of growing on me, Blossom.”

Cheryl smiles a bit, stirring her drink with her straw to distract herself from the warmth blooming in her chest and over her cheeks. “I just wish I could leave town for a while. Get away for a few days. Feel free of my mother’s evil clutches, you know?”

Toni quirks a brow, thinking for a moment with a hum. “Well… why don’t you? You have the money.”

Cheryl scoffs. “I would hate to be alone for so long; besides, there’s this snarky Serpent bitch who I may or may not miss.”

Toni laughs. “Always such a charmer.” She leans in closer, lowering her voice a bit. “Well- maybe a certain ‘snarky Serpent bitch’ would love to join you in your little escape plan.” She crosses her arms. “So! Where are we going?”

* * *

 Cheryl can’t remember feeling as free as she does when she and Toni zip past the Riverdale county line, the stupid sign telling them to come back soon. But she knows that, in this moment, with the wind in her hair and the sun shining down on her when Toni makes a victorious  _‘Whoop!’_ , there’s a weight lifting off her shoulders and-

Dammit-

She smiles so wide she feels her cheeks ache.

They drive right to New York, a hotel booked for the night, and they spend the day exploring the streets and laughing together. Toni leaves her Serpent jacket in the hotel, opting for her crop top and shorts instead. Cheryl sports a similar look, her white top and red shorts contrasting Toni’s black and blue.

They’re at a Starbucks when Toni’s gaze suddenly softens, and the air between them shifts.

“What?” Cheryl asks, feeling a bit nervous all of a sudden.

“You just look… happy, is all. It’s nice to see you smile.” Toni answers honestly and something stirs in Cheryl.

She smiles, because she can’t help it, and gently nudges Toni’s shoulder with hers. “I  _am_ happy. Thank you for doing this with me.”

“I’d drive over the end of the world with you, Cher,” Toni smiles back and it’s so-

So  _nice_ to have someone like her in Cheryl’s life. She doesn’t know where she’d be without her. Maybe back at Sweetwater River, maybe elsewhere. She isn’t sure, but she knows for certain that nobody makes her feel quite as happy as Toni Topaz does.

* * *

 They’re staying at a nice hotel in Maryland, the sun just beginning set. The beach calls to them, so they don their bikinis and light jackets and start walking along the sand, talking about anything and everything that comes to mind.

Cheryl loves Toni’s sense of humor. It’s something that they both have in common, much to their surprise, and she loves the way Toni throws her head back when something makes her laugh particularly hard. Loves the way the sun hits her  _just right_ , her dark eyes shining a bit brighter and her pink and brown hair giving her an ethereal glow.

(Cheryl’s never been too keen on the whole ‘God’ thing, but she thinks, if there is a higher power up in that sky, then it must have brought Toni to her that night at the movies. She was so achingly lonely - from the ‘Core Four’ and their couples’ retreat to her mother turning their home into her sexual playpen, from just having  _nobody_ , and it was like Toni came just to be by her side. If there is any spiritual being watching her, be it God, or Jason, or whomever, then she thinks that Toni is a gift from them to tell Cheryl that she  _isn’t_ alone, that she  _can_ heal, that she  _is_ sensational.)

The orange sun is dipping below the black horizon, the stars beginning to shine above them. An endless ocean of constellations, the infinite universe, and Cheryl honestly can’t stop looking at her companion. At the way she walks with self-assured confidence that Cheryl always has to fake to impress her peers. The way her lips curve into a delicate grin, her eyes lighting up as she tells Cheryl stories about her past.

She’s in the middle of a story about her first time drinking when Cheryl can’t help but blurt out:

“You’re so beautiful.”

And Toni stops talking, looks at Cheryl, and there are vast galaxies in her eyes that take Cheryl’s breath away. The air between them shifts again, as it seems to often do these days, and she just stares back at Cheryl.

Cheryl doesn’t know what it means when Toni’s hand finds her own, but she lets their fingers entwine, and Toni returns to her story as they walk. Cheryl laughs until her sides hurt. She isn’t sure what it means when that feeling in the back of her mind flares again, more insistently, but she ignores it easily enough.

* * *

 Toni has never been ice skating. That, Cheryl decides, is a crime worthy of immediate redemption. So that’s why they’re in a shabby old ice rink that’s probably infested with God-Knows-What. The skates are in shockingly good condition, and Cheryl tries not to focus on Toni’s legs when she’s doing up the laces.

“I’m going to die,” Toni concludes as she stands on the blades with a wobble.

Cheryl’s arms move to her waist, steadying her. Toni’s so soft under her touch. She’s always surprised at how delicate such a strong girl could feel. There’s a small silence that feels oddly heavy before Cheryl clears her throat and expertly steps back on her skates.

“Ready, Cha-Cha?” Her eyes flicker over Toni’s body. She’s in leggings and a sweatshirt that’s been cut just above her navel. Her belly button ring reflects the fluorescence, glittering brightly.

It’s a dare. A challenge. (A flirt, Cheryl will admit.)

Toni smirks. “Always.”

It takes all of five seconds of Toni on the ice before she’s on her ass. Cheryl giggles, unable to control herself, and the look of utter  _betrayal_ on Toni’s face makes her laugh even harder.

“Laugh it up, Bombshell. I’ll get my revenge,” Toni warns.

Cheryl offers her hand to help Toni. “It’s like walking. Just one step at a time, don’t pick up your feet. C’mon, hold my hand.”

Toni’s hand is warm, fitting into hers like a piece of a puzzle Cheryl didn’t realize she was missing. They skate side by side, Toni still a bit clumsy, but Cheryl holding her hand tight. And then somehow, Toni trips her, and they both tumble to the ice.

Toni lands on top of her, her palms on either side of Cheryl’s body and her knee pressed firmly between Cheryl’s legs.

And Cheryl can’t help it:

She groans.

Toni freezes, looking down at her with those damned eyes that make Cheryl’s mind go blank. And then Cheryl bursts into a fit of laughter, and so Toni laughs too. It’s nice. It’s… everything Cheryl has ever wanted. Laughter. Happiness. Companionship.

(And maybe something more.)

(That feeling is beginning to be a constant nagging in the back of her mind.)

* * *

 The highway lights pass over the open roof, the cool night air whipping Cheryl’s hair behind her like fire. Toni is driving, more confident in her ability to push her sleepiness away than Cheryl. She’s singing along softly to the song playing on the radio, and Cheryl is watching yellow lights illuminate her bright smile.

She’s so beautiful.

God, Cheryl used to pride herself on her vast vocabulary. She used to brag about her perfect essays for English and her ability to paint vivid, colorful pictures with black and white words but- she doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to properly describe the way Toni makes her feel.

She’s only ever had such natural silences with Jason. He’s the only person she’s ever needed no words to communicate with. It’s like her and Toni have their own frequency between them, one that’s always tuned to the other. And, sure, maybe it’s after everything they’ve been through and told each other. But maybe it’s something more. Something she hasn’t felt in a long while.

Toni’s hand leaves the gearshift to cover Cheryl’s where it rests between them on the bench seat. This, Cheryl thinks, is what it feels like to find what she had lost long ago: her heart. Her  _soul_. And it’s becoming less and less scary to think about how much Toni means to her.

* * *

 Cheryl has no damn clue how she does it, but somehow Toni manages to convince the lady at the desk that they’re on honeymoon and over the age of twenty-one. She even gets the woman to book them a nicer room - one meant for  _actual_ honeymoons, but Cheryl isn’t complaining.

They’re halfway through the fruity mixed drinks in the minibar when Cheryl’s stupid feeling flares and this time it’s so strong she can only blame it on the alcohol.

One moment they’re dancing wildly to a Ke$ha song, and the next Cheryl can’t help herself and she kisses Toni.

And it feels wonderful.

Toni’s arms find her waist, pulling her closer, and Cheryl’s holding her face in her hands and it feels so, so good. This- warmth, this- tenderness, this-  _vulnerability_ that she has only ever been able to feel with Toni. She feels wide open, her walls crumbling with the soft movement of lips over hers.

When they separate, they’re out of breath, and her eyes are still closed. She feels Toni’s forehead press to hers, her fingers squeezing lightly at Cheryl’s hips. Slowly, Cheryl opens her eyes.

And Toni is smiling at her. She’s grinning like Cheryl just told her something important and exciting. So Cheryl smiles back, because she feels like this is that important, exciting something. She doesn’t know what it means, but she doesn’t even want to think beyond their embrace. Because it feels so, so  _right_ and  _natural_ and nothing since Jason has made sense until this girl came along.

Cheryl kisses her again, because she knows she’ll never, ever get tired of this feeling. And when they just can’t hold their breath anymore, they part again and lean their foreheads together once more.

Cheryl knows, with every fibre of her damn being, that Toni Topaz is the only person she wants to kiss from now until forever.

“You really are sensational,” Toni murmurs and Cheryl laughs softly.

“And  _you_ are absolutely the best thing that has ever happened to me.”  Cheryl admits.

They kiss again. (And again. And again.)

(Cheryl is intoxicated by all that is this beautiful, amazing person)

(How lucky, she thinks, she is to exist at the same time as Toni Topaz.)

* * *

 The next morning, Cheryl wakes to Toni in her arms, head on her chest. She smiles to herself, and very slowly and lightly strokes through long, pink strands. Their swimming has dulled the dye a bit, but it still contrasts against the rest of her hair.

_God, she’s so beautiful,_  Cheryl muses. In the morning light slipping in through the window, Toni is glowing. Her lips are pursed in a sleepy pout, and, God, she makes Cheryl’s heart soar.

She feels Toni’s chest pressing to her stomach, and feels a heavy heartbeat. Slow, steady breaths. A puff of air on her collarbone, having slept in her low cut shirt from the night prior. Toni’s arms are wrapped firmly around her torso, holding her so tightly that Cheryl can almost feel her arms flexing.

Wait-

Her arms  _are_ flexing.

Toni is totally awake.

Not one to pass up a chance to tease Toni, Cheryl grins and says, “I know you’re awake.”

Toni hums, hugging her  _tighter_ and burying her face further into Cheryl’s chest. Cheryl blushes at the vibration, but presses further:

“Shame, I was gonna give you a good morning kiss, but if you’re just gonna- _mmph_ -” Cheryl is cut off by Toni’s lips on hers. Toni pulls away, grinning, and then promptly lays back down.

“Bitch.” Cheryl blurts.

Toni laughs. “Only yours, baby.”

_Baby_.

_Only mine_.

Cheryl cups her jaw and pulls her up to kiss her again, with a bit more fire than she had before. Toni’s soft moan against her lips is goddamn  _addictive_. The redhead presses closer to Toni, her arms on her waist maneuvering them so that she’s straddling the shorter girl. Toni feels a tongue press against her lips and sighs.

When Toni’s hands grip her ass, Cheryl pulls back with a sharp gasp.

“Sorry,” Toni loosens her grip and moves her hands up to Cheryl’s waist. “Too soon?”

“No, that’s not it,” Cheryl blushes. “I- I mean, I don’t mind at all, it’s just-” she huffs. “I’ve never, um, done… that.”

“That?”

“ _It_.”

“You mean  _sex_?” Toni smirks and Cheryl groans dramatically.

“Don’t tease me, you  _jerk_.” She scolds, her cheeks a dark pink.

“Well,” Toni sits up, kisses Cheryl’s chin. “That’s okay if you don’t want to.”

“I  _do_ ,” Cheryl says immediately. “But I just wanted you to, um, know. In case I don’t-”

Toni presses a kiss to her lips. “You talk too much. You know that?”

Cheryl giggles. “I think I’ve been told that once or twice before…”

Their lips meet again, slow and lazy. And then Cheryl rolls her hips, and it quickly becomes heated. Toni’s hands lower to the backs her thighs, and Cheryl shivers. Toni’s thigh settles between Cheryl’s and  _presses_ against her, pulling a moan from the redhead.

“Lay down,” Toni murmurs. As soon as Cheryl’s on her back, Toni is on top of her, her knee settling between her legs.

Toni’s hand caresses her cheek, coming to rest on her jaw. “You’re so beautiful,” she says, her eyes filling with something warm as she looks down at Cheryl.

Cheryl smiles, leaning up to press a kiss to her lips. “You are, too. You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met.”

Toni kisses her again, but she’s smiling too hard and has to pull away. “Let me take care of you. Let me show you how much you mean to me.”

Cheryl runs her hands along Toni’s arms, finding her own hands and locking them with hers. “I’m yours, Toni.”  _I always have been, I just didn’t know it._

Toni guides her back down onto the pillows, kissing Cheryl passionately as her hands roam her body. She tugs gently at Cheryl’s top, and Cheryl lifts her body up to let the girl toss the clothing aside.

Her lips are everywhere that her skin isn’t covered. She’s kissing Cheryl’s neck, and then her collarbone, and then her chest and Cheryl’s heart is beating so hard she’s certain that Toni feels it when she kisses between her breasts.

“You’re so, so beautiful,” Toni whispers, fingers finding the clasp of Cheryl’s bra.

She meets Cheryl’s gaze steadily, waiting for permission. Cheryl nods and the bra is quickly discarded and replaced with Toni’s mouth and hand. Cheryl gasps sharply, one of her hands tangling into the hair on the back of Toni’s neck and the other clutching Toni’s shoulder. Jolts of pleasure make her hips twitch into Toni’s thigh, and Cheryl moans.

Toni rolls her hips, pressing a bit further into Cheryl. The redhead lets out a whimper and bucks her hips to recreate the friction. Toni kisses down Chery’s stomach, pulling her thigh away and earning a low whine in response. She chuckles softly.

“Still okay?” She asks, kissing under Cheryl’s naval.

“More than okay,” Cheryl’s voice is a bit higher in pitch. “Please keep going.”

“Since you asked so nicely,” Toni teases, pulling Cheryl’s ruffled skirt down her legs and tossing it to the floor.

She runs her hands along smooth legs, admiring the girl beneath her. She takes off her own shirt, and Cheryl’s eyes are glued to her chest.

“Can I-?” Cheryl whispers and Toni grins before nodding.

Cheryl sits up, pressing her lips over Toni’s exposed nipple and running her tongue along the hardening bud. Toni’s hands clutch at her thighs, a sigh slipping from her throat. Toni’s hand slithers between Cheryl’s legs, pressing into her covered core. Cheryl moans against her chest.

“Lay back down,” Toni husks.

Cheryl does as she’s told, and Toni slowly pulls the red pair of panties off of Cheryl’s body and looks into Cheryl’s eyes with a tender smile.

She kisses Cheryl gently, tentatively, her fingers hesitating above where Cheryl needs her most. Cheryl whimpers into her mouth, raising her hips a bit. Toni chuckles lowly before running her fingers along wet folds.

“You’re so wet,” she muses against Cheryl’s lips.

“Please,” Cheryl breathes. “Toni, I need…”

“What do you need, baby?” Toni’s free hand is pressing Cheryl’s hips into the mattress, preventing her from moving them to meet her fingers.

“I need  _you_ ,” the redhead meets her gaze. “Please, Toni.”

Toni kisses her and slides her fingers over Cheryl’s clit. Cheryl arches into her, a relieved moan falling from her lips. Her hands tangle in Toni’s hair, pulling her impossibly closer as Toni makes small circles into her. When Toni’s fingers slip inside of her, Cheryl separates their kiss with a loud curse.

“I-  _oh_ God…” Cheryl gasps.

Toni kisses down her body slowly, taking her time to draw out every sound she can from the girl beneath her. Cheryl’s eyes are squeezed shut, her lips parted as moans spill from her full lips. Her skin is flushed red, and, God, Toni has never seen a more beautiful sight.

She presses kisses to the insides of Cheryl’s thighs, her fingers finding a spot that makes the redhead’s back arch high.

“Open your eyes,” Toni lingers over Cheryl’s core, her fingers sliding out of her velvety walls. Cheryl whimpers and her eyes snap open, finding Toni’s.

Toni licks along Cheryl’s entrance, her tongue circling her clit, and the redhead’s next moan is much louder than the rest. Toni’s hand moves from her hips to find Cheryl’s and holds it tightly.

“Fuck- oh  _God_ , Toni-” Cheryl groans, her other hand clenched firmly into Toni’s hair. She  _tugs_ and a groan reverberates through Toni’s chest.

Cheryl feels it building in her stomach, feels the way she’s clenching around Toni’s tongue and the way her thighs are tightening around Toni’s head. Her moans are loud, now, bouncing off the walls. Her throat is starting to hurt, and suddenly-

“Oh, oh fuck- fuck  _fucking_ -” and she comes undone with Toni’s name on her tongue. She’s shaking and twitching against the other girl, and Toni just works her through it and licks her  _everywhere_ and it’s so overwhelming and Cheryl can’t breathe. Finally, Toni moves back up to kiss her, and lets her shiver through aftershocks of her orgasm.

“Jesus Christ,” Cheryl pants breathily.

“You okay, bombshell? How does the back of your head look?” Toni kisses her forehead and Cheryl laughs lightly.

“Fuck you.”

“Please do.”

Cheryl kisses her again, and she thinks with every fibre of her being that she would follow this girl to the ends of the Earth. She thinks she could spend the rest of forever with this girl. She thinks-

Maybe-

Maybe she’s finally good enough for someone.

(And maybe she always was; she just didn’t find that someone yet.)

* * *

 “I fucking hate this.” Toni complains, her legs aching.

“You’re a  _photographer_ , shouldn’t you be taking cheesy nature photos?” Cheryl quips.

They have to drive home in a few days. Their time off has been nothing short of wonderful; they’ve gone to so many new places, seen so many new things, and experienced something warm and pleasant and Cheryl hates that it has to end. Hates that, as soon as she steps back into Riverdale, she won’t be able to do these things with Toni.

She senses a similar feeling in Toni. Maybe she knows, too, that this blissful world they’ve lived in for the past week has been doomed from the start. They’ve always had this tension between them, these unspoken words, but now it feels greater than ever. Like each girl is holding their breath, waiting for the first crack of reality in their glass castle.

“You know what? You’re right.” Toni pauses, so Cheryl stops a few feet ahead of her and turns around. Toni snaps a picture on her smartphone with a grin. “This moment is definitely one to remember.”

“Moment?” Cheryl giggles. Toni had taken plenty of pictures, most of them promptly uploaded onto Instagram. Cheryl loves that she’s in most of them, and loves that Toni is so unashamedly open about how she feels.

**_The stars are out but so is this shining star._ **

**_Best thing I’ve eaten all day_.  _Also, these pancakes are A M A Z I N G._**

**_LOOK AT THIS ANGEL! Also, look at this cool statue_ **

They were always so cheesy and dorky but, God, Cheryl loves everything about Toni. But Penelope Blossom’s shadow looms over them; Riverdale is becoming more menacing each and everyday.

“Every second with you is a moment I want to remember, Cher,” Toni murmurs, joining her side to press a kiss to her cheek.

Cheryl grins brilliantly. “You know, you kind of mean the world to me.”

“And you mean the universe to me,” Toni smiles.

(Reality may be towering over them, but all Cheryl knows is that, no matter what, she will never, ever let this feeling with Toni end. Penelope Blossom be damned.)

* * *

 Reality finds them the day they’re driving back to Riverdale. They’ve stopped at an old diner, sitting shoulder to shoulder in a booth and splitting a basket of fries, when Toni says it:

“What’s going to happen when we go back?”

Cheryl tenses, and looks down at the table. It’s probably filthy and riddled with bacteria, she decides.

“Cheryl?” Toni’s voice is soft. “Baby, please. I- these past few months that I’ve gotten to know you, I really, really came to like you and I-” she takes a deep breath. “I finally got a taste of what it’s like to have you, and I don’t know if I can ever go back to being in that limbo between ‘friends’ and ‘more’.” She takes Cheryl’s hand, curling their fingers together. “I don’t want this to end.  _Us_ to end. I just- I need to know you won’t pretend this didn’t happen. That  _we_ didn’t happen.”

Cheryl releases a shaky breath. “I don’t know, Toni. I really… I don’t know.” She admits, closing her eyes. “I’m afraid of what my mother will do. She’s… unpredictable, and if she knows that I-” she pauses, licks her lips. “That we’re together, I don’t want her to tear you away from me. It feels like the world only started moving when I met you, and I don’t want it to stop again.”

Toni’s hand slips from hers to wrap her arm around Cheryl’s shoulder, pulling her closer. “Cheryl, I won’t let her do anything to me. Or you. I want to be able to tell everyone that I’m in love with Cheryl Blossom and I don’t care what they think. But I don’t want you to be-”

“I love you.” Cheryl interrupts.

Toni looks over at her, a soft look in her eyes. “Then promise me everything will be okay?”

“I love you, and I think… I think everything will be okay. Can we just- take it slow, in Riverdale? I’m not…”

“Of course. I just- I didn’t want you to act like we were just friends again, nothing more.”

“Were we ever really just friends, though?”

Toni smirks. “I guess not.”

“I love you,” Cheryl repeats, pressing a kiss to Toni’s lips. “And I promise, I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t tear apart.”

And Toni believes her.

And Cheryl means it.

And she is so, so unabashedly in love with Toni that she can’t believe their glass castle has become solid stone.


End file.
